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RodCateisahappyman.IfyouevergettoworkalongsideRodatSideWalk,it
doesn’ttakelongbeforeyourealizethathe’slivedalifeofmeaningfulaccomplishments.
Hemaybequietonthesurface,butbeneaththepublicmodestyliesanintriguing
personality.He’salearnedacademicwhoalsocaresdeeplyaboutpeople.Inshort,Rodisa
raregeminaworldfullofextremists,andapricelesstreasureforSideWalk.
Rodstudiedpharmacyasanundergrad.Aftergraduatinghefoundajobinthefield
whichledtoa10-yearcareerasafull-timepharmacist.Becausehe’ssuchadedicated
familyman,Rodworkednights,weekends,andevenholidaysinordertocomfortably
provideforafamilyoffour.
Butheeventuallytiredofthepharmaceuticalindustryandlongedforaprofession
thatwasalittlemorerewarding.SoRodreturnedtoschoolatTexasTechUniversityto
pursueaMaster’sinMarriageandFamilyCounseling.Enjoyinghisstudiesimmensely,he
wentontocompleteaPh.D.inHumanDevelopmentandFamilyStudies.
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AfterfinishinghisPh.D.,Rodexploredtheworldofadministration.Beginningasthe
DepartmentChair,heeventuallyservedsometimeastheAssociateDeanforResearch.His
administrativepositionsgavehimanopportunitytotroubleshootproblems,assess
workloads,andoverseethecoursesofferedeachsemester.Healsohelpedsecuregrants
andmanagethedepartment’sbudget.
DespiteRod’shigh-responsibilityadministrativeduties,heseemstohaveaspecial
reverenceforteaching.Asaprofessor,Rodtaughtcoursesaboutromanticinterpersonal
relationships.Hisfocuswasonintimateconnections–whatpsychologistscall“affective
bonds.”Hewasespeciallyinterestedinhowrelationshipsformandinhowtheycometobe
romantic.
Oneofhismorememorableresearcheffortsinvolvedinterviewingover50different
couplesabouthowtheyoriginallygottogether.Rodanalyzedthestatisticallikelihoodof
thecouplesmarryingeachother.Whathefoundwasthreecommonpathwaystomarriage:
1)thequickcourtship(whenacouplehitsitoffimmediatelyanddecidestogetserious
abouttherelationship);2)thesteady&linearprogression(whenarelationshipbecomes
increasinglymoreseriousasthecoupleslowlygetstoknoweachother);and3)themodel
thatstartslow,staysunsure,andthensuddenlyspikes(whenarelationshipstruggleswith
differencesinageorparentalsupport).
Althoughacareerinacademiacanhaveacertainstigmatoit,thepublicperception
ofpipe-smokingprofessorsattiredintweedsuitsis–Iassureyou--abitoutdated.Andyet
tothisdaythere’sstillasensethatourcampusesarefilledwitharmchairtheoristsall
hopelesslydisconnectedfromreality.Rod’slife,however,clearlydemonstratesthatbook-
smartsneednotdisqualifyonefromengagingthehumanrace.
Afteranacademiccareerlastingnearly30yearsthough,Rodwasreadyfor
retirement.HelefttheUniversityofArizona,andmovedtoOlympia,Washington,tobe
closertoanotherimportantpassioninhislife:hisfivegrandchildren.Familyhasalways
beenimportanttohim.BecauseRodgrewupasanonlychild,he’salwaysdeeplycherished
thefamilythathe’srearedandraisedonhisown.
PeopleasdrivenandaccomplishedasRoddon’toftensettleeasilyintoretirement.
SouponarrivinginOlympia,Rodimmediatelydevelopedotherprojects.Withthehelpof
someofhisformergradstudents,Rodwroteatextbooksurveyinghisprofessorialstudies.
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Hisbook,“TheDevelopmentalCourseofRomanticRelationships,”waspublishedin2013
andisstillinprinttoday.
AndthatbringsustoSideWalk.Justwhatisthishighly-accomplishedretireedoing
withalittlenonprofitorganizationlikeSideWalk?Well,evenasauniversityprofessor,Rod
alwayswantedtoworkwithpeopledirectlyratherthanobjectifythelearningprocess
throughrotelearningmethods.Soasaspiritually-inclinedDemocrat,whenRodheard
aboutSideWalk,hispersonalconvictionswerepiqued.Simplyput,hefeltthatsupportinga
causededicatedtoendinghomelesswas“thehumanethingtodo.”InRod’smind,it’sour
moralimperativetoprovideforthosewhohaveunmetneedsinourcommunity.
ForRod,homelessnessisreallyasocialjusticeissue.Furthermore,hepointsout
thathomelessnessisinmanywaysaproblemuniquetotheU.S.Statistically-speaking,
thereisasmallerhomelesspopulationinEuropeancountries.Alargeportionofour
society,hefeels,believethatpeopledeservetheirhomelessnessbecausetheU.S.offers
equalopportunitytoeveryonetosucceedinlife.Butthisidealismisnotgroundedin
practicalreality.Yes,wecanalltheoreticallydoanythingwewanttointhiscountry,but
ouropportunitiesarenot–realisticallyspeaking--allequal.
Justincasethisisallsoundingalittleoff-track,Rodisreadywithsomeclarification
forthefaintofheart:endinghomelessnessisn’taboutabolishingcapitalism.Sowecanall
takeaseat.Endinghomelessnessissimplyaboutmakingsmalladjustmentsforthe
inequitiesinoursystem.InRod’swords,socialjusticeshouldpromotethe“fairtreatment
ofpeoplefromallwalksoflife.”AsRodsays,thisisespeciallyimportantbecausemanyof
ushavecomeclosetohomelessnessatsomepointinourlife.Itbehoovesusall,therefore,
tohavesomecompassionforthosewhoaredown-and-out.
AsastabilityadvocateforSideWalk,Rodbuildsrapportwithhisclientsfromthe
beginningtotheendoftheprocess.ThisroleallowsRodachancetodedicatehimself
equallytothecauseandtotheperson.Thissubtledistinctioniscrucialtonotebecause
advocatesaren’touttoendhomelessnessforthesakeofprinciplealone;theyservethe
fleshandbloodneedsoftheirclientsface-to-face.
AfterSideWalk’sclientsarescreenedtoseeifthey’reeligibleforassistance,they’re
thenassignedanadvocatewhoassiststhemthroughouttheprocessoffindingaplaceto
live.Butanadvocatedoesn’tdotheworkfortheirclients.Anadvocate’sjobistoinform
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theirclientsaboutresourcesthatareavailableinthecommunitywhileempoweringthem
totakethenextstepontheirown.Anadvocateisequalpartseducatorandmotivator.
Goodintentions,however,arerarelywithoutgoodchallenges.ByRod’sown
admittance,evenadvocatessometimesstrugglewithstereotypesregardingtheclientele.
Indeed,evenRod’swholesomeheartoccasionallyquestionsthecausesofhomelessnessor
howhisclientsshouldlook,sound,oractlike.Whathe’sfoundthoughisthatthe
proverbialtruthremains:it’sneversafetogeneralize.
Sowhiletheever-honestandalwaysselflessRodCatemaybeoffofpayroll,he’snot
yetretiredfromthehumanrace.Fromthepharmacycountertoptotheprofessorial
lectern,fromthedean’sdesktoSideWalk’sbustlinglivingroom,RodCate’scareerhas
consistentlyfocusedonhumanconnections.Althoughhemaynothaveabackgroundin
theology,RodferventlybelievesthatGodisnotanisolationist.Forhim,Godiswhatgoes
onbetweenpeople:thehiddensparkthatnourishesallourrelationships.Tothatend,
SideWalkallowshimtoconnectdeeplywiththecommunitywhilecultivatingthatspark
betweenusall.UltimatelyRod’scareerremindsusthatsuccessisn’tdependentuponhow
muchwemake,butonhowmuchwedoforotherpeople.Withanattitudelikethatit’s
easytoseewhyRodCateissuchapricelesstreasureforbothSideWalkandour
community.